


and to return to the sea is the greatest gift of all

by OHSQUASH



Series: 91 Days [1]
Category: 91 Days (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet, Bittersweet Ending, Death, M/M, Reflection, Spoilers, Tenderness, could be read as platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-16 02:55:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19309186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OHSQUASH/pseuds/OHSQUASH
Summary: Avilio doesn’t make a sound when the bullet hits him. He falls, slowly, softly, into the sand. And all is quiet.





	and to return to the sea is the greatest gift of all

**Author's Note:**

  * For [My Friend (You Know Who You Are)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=My+Friend+%28You+Know+Who+You+Are%29).



Avilio doesn’t make a sound when the bullet hits him. He falls, slowly, softly, into the sand. And all is quiet. 

 

Nero stands, frozen in time for a few imperceptible seconds, minutes, hours, days. His arm, and the gun, lowers slowly. He swallows hard and tucks it away. 

 

Nero walks across the shifting sand to where Avilio lays, still, and rolls his thin body over. His face is smooth, calmer in death than in life, the ever-present wrinkle between his brows finally smoothed by the final slumber. He doesn’t look like he’s sleeping, but he looks like he’s found rest. 

 

He doesn’t have the time, but he sits down anyway, watching the gray ocean, reflecting. He’s mad, maybe, or sad. Distressed, pissed, angry. He doesn’t know. Empty, mostly. Hollow. Was this how Avilio felt, for seven years?

 

Nero’s gaze drifts from the churning sea to Avilio’s form, resting beside him in the sand, relaxed. The waves crash, the birds cry, and his heartbeat is the only one for miles. 

 

“The sea, huh,” he says, though he knows he’s speaking to no one. Standing up, he dusts himself off and takes a few steps away before hesitating. Turning slowly on the soft sand, he watches the sea wash away streams of sand. 

 

He runs a hand through his hair, sighing, before removing his shoes and socks and rolling up his pants. The sand feels nice between his toes, but he has to hurry. He scoops Avilio’s small body into his arms, and it’s so easy because Avilio is small, and thin, and  _ young.  _ He fits effortlessly against Nero’s chest, arms folded delicately across his front, head lolling lifelessly. 

 

Nero wades into the cold water, up until his waist, and holds Avilio gently, like he might break. It doesn’t matter, he knows, but he can’t bring himself to be calloused with his friend’s body. He stares at Avilio’s delicate features for a few seconds longer, feeling a pang of… something. 

 

Leaning closer to the water, he presses a soft kiss to Avilio’s forehead, where his brow would wrinkle, before relaxing his arms, slowly letting the ocean take Avilio’s fragile body from his arms forever. “Sleep well, Angelo. See you soon.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> fuck y'all what the fuck. i'm fucking wrecked.


End file.
